Howell Webster Melton Sr. (December 15, 1923 – December 18, 2015) was an American lawyer and

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida (in case citations, M.D. Fla.) is a federal court in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against ...

Education and career

Born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, Melton graduated from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in 1943 with his

Associate of Arts An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

degree. Melton served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1943 to 1946 during World War II and attended the

Fredric G. Levin College of Law The University of Florida Levin College of Law (UF Law) is the law school of the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest operating public law school in Florida and second oldest overall in the stat ...

at the University of Florida, receiving his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

in 1948. He remained in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

with the

Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG or JAG Corps) is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called judge advocates ...

from 1949 to 1953 and became a 1st lieutenant. Melton was in private practice in St. Augustine,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

from 1948 until 1961. He was a

county attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

for St. Johns County from 1959 to 1960. He served as a circuit judge of the 7th Judicial Circuit of Florida from 1961 to 1977.

Federal judicial service

President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

nominated Melton to the

on March 29, 1977, to the seat vacated by Judge

Gerald Bard Tjoflat Gerald Bard Tjoflat (born December 6, 1929) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a Senior United States circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He was appointed in 1975 by President Gerald Ford. He previously ...

. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on April 25, 1977, and received his commission the next day. Melton assumed senior status on February 1, 1991, serving in that status until his death on December 18, 2015, at his St. Augustine home.

Personal

Melton's son, Howell W. Melton Jr., is a retired attorney formerly with Holland & Knight.

References

Sources

* 1923 births 2015 deaths Lawyers from Atlanta People from St. Augustine, Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni Florida state court judges United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps Judges of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter United States Army officers United States Army reservists University of Florida alumni {{Florida-state-judge-stub